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Inside AJC

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 28: People along with New York City Council members attend a press conference to call for justice in the February 26 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, on the steps of City Hall March 28, 2012 in New York City. Martin was killed by George Michael Zimmerman while on neighborhood watch patrol in the gated community of The Retreat at Twin Lakes. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images) Photo: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

The parents of a teen killed in 2012, sparking outrage when his shooter was acquitted, took the stage at Florida Memorial University’s commencement in Miami Gardens today to accept an honorary degree for their son, WSVN reports.

Trayvon Martin's bachelor's degree in aeronautical science was bittersweet, his parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin said, but they were encouraged by the community's support.

"Just watching all the 2017 graduates come across the stage, and just to share that moment with them, it was very powerful," Martin said. Fulton is a graduate of Florida Memorial.

Earlier, the university said it was awarding the aeronautics degree, with a concentration in flight education, to Trayvon Martin "in honor of his love for planes and the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot."

Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford by George Zimmerman, who claimed self-defense on the grounds of a gated community in which Zimmerman and Martin's father's fiancee lived. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2013.